Monday, March 1, 2010

Day One: The East Bank of Luxor

We took an hour-long flight down to Luxor which left at 5:30 AM from Cairo. Which meant I was awake at 3:30 AM. When we arrived, we went straight to our hotel but the room wasn't ready yet so we couldn't nap. Instead, we had breakfast and began sight-seeing at an ungodly hour. All the sites are all open beginning at 6 AM. Luxor gets notoriously hot so the best time to go is early in the morning. We lucked out as the temperate was moderate the whole time we were there.

We started off at the Karnak Temple which is enormous and beautiful. We wondered around the temple for half an hour staring at thousands of hieroglyphs and reliefs on the walls, taking in the grandeur of the temple. It was very overwhelming so we decided to get a tour guide to explain what we were seeing. We found a couple who had a guide and asked if we could join their group. They said sure and we were off! Until 15 minutes later... After not understanding a word of English that the guide said, we ran away from him and the couple. I felt bad but his English was so awful that I started getting anxious. If you weren't listening carefully, it sounded like he was speaking in tongues. Lillie tried coming up with an excuse as Stephanie and I made our exit but the guide knew we didn't like him and was very offended. Maa' lish.

We spent the rest of the morning oooing and ahhing at my people's work:

According to a very reliable source, Egyptians were the first people to have dreadlocks. I pledge to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors.

"Notice this giant pillar. And notice that duck with a circle next to its head. Now notice this pillar."

I really felt like the pharaohs were telling me something.

Who am I to disobey the pharaohs?

After getting some rest, we went to the Luxor Museum which has an excellent collection that is well-maintained and organized. But no pictures allowed. Then, in the evening, we went to the Temple of Luxor. It was very dramatically-lit.

Offering fruit to the Mark-god

The whole time, I felt like an archaeologist. It was awesome.

This picture is so packed with stuff it feels like a photoshopped postcard.